Ryan Giggs makes his managerial debut at Old Trafford, hoping to guide Manchester United to victory over struggling Norwich City (Watch live on NBC at 12:30 p.m. ET and online via Live Extra).
It’s likely Giggs, age 40, only has three games in which to make an impression. Already there are reports of an agreement to bring in Louis van Gaal after Holland are eliminated from the World Cup. With such a limited time in which to make an impact, the young manager must go all out, bringing back a more aggressive style and making United appealing to watch once more. And, well, a win would be nice as well.
These are desperate times for Norwich, however. Next up is a visit to Chelsea, before playing host to Arsenal to close out the season. As the Canaries are just two points from safety and their fellow strugglers have much easier schedules, getting a result against the 7th-placed Red Devils seems vital. In absence of any points, Cardiff, Fulham, or even Sunderland could leapfrog Norwich, setting them up for the drop.
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Although Giggs had hinted that he might play himself against the Canaries, the new manager has decided he’s got more than enough to be getting on with, and kept his name out of the 18. Giggs makes six changes to last week’s losing side, including dropping Juan Mata to the bench, bringing back Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić, and re-introducing Tom Cleverly. Wayne Rooney starts up top alongside Danny Welbeck.
Despite last week’s 3-2 loss to Liverpool, Neil Adams makes just one change to the visitors’ lineup. Ricky van Wolfswinkel steps in while Gary Hooper drops to the bench - despite Hooper grabbing the first goal last time out.
LINEUPS
Manchester United: De Gea; Jones, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley, Kagawa; Welbeck, Rooney
Subs: Lindegaard, Smalling, Mata, Chicharito, Nani, Young, Fletcher
Norwich City: Ruddy; Whittaker, Martin, Turner, Olsson; Johnson; Fer, Howson; Snodgrass; Redmond, van Wolfswinkel
Subs: Bunn, Hooper, Gutierrez, Elmander, R Bennett, Tettey, Josh Murphy